The X Factor returns S02E01

The X Factor is back! Hallelujah! Simon Cowell returns to Fox with a new line up of judges joining him and LA Reid. Demi Lovato and the sensational Britney Spears.

First up tonight are the auditions in Austin, Texas. 21 year old Paige Thomas is up first with I'm Going Down and knocks it out of the park. It's four yeses right out of the gate and The X Factor is off to a great start!

If ever there was someone you'd compare to Justin Bieber, it would be 13 year old Reed Deming. Bruno Mars is his weapon of choice and then Grenade before the judges waive him through to the next round.

When Lady Gaga released Born This Way it was inevitable that it would become an anthem for those with a desire to make themselves highly visible among the crowd. Quatrele Da'an Smith is one such person. He sings the song while decked out in a wedding dress, a symbol of his "marriage to the X Factor". LA Reid is the only one to say no despite the performance so he progresses to the boot camp round.

The first group of Season 2 of The X Factor is Emblem3. They sing an original song called Sunset Boulevard and they're fantastic. They sing, they rap and they dominate the stage. Four yeses and it's off to boot camp for them.

Don Phillip used to sing with Britney and is all teary about seeing her again. He sings Halo and isn't that great. Britney looks like she's finding it tough but after all the other judges deliver a no, she passes on him as well leaving him to cry his way off stage into the waiting arms of one of the production crew. He's devastated that he may have hurt her.

Jenel Garcia is a little pocket rocket who rocks out Paris. LA Reid was feeling her. Britney wasn't expecting that. Demi wrote down hot, in every sense of the word. Simon thought she is a young Pat Benatar. He likes her a lot. Unlike the last audition, it's yeses all around. She didn't expect them to like her that much.

Finally tonight is yet another victim of bullying, Jillian Jensen. As LA Reid says, he's not sure where the bullies are, but she's standing on the X Factor stage. She sings Who You Are and she's got quite a husky tone to her voice. I'm not convinced she's got it all there but it may just be all the emotions coming out on the stage. The crowd cheers as she ends. She cries. Demi Lovato gets out of her chair and walks onto the stage to join her and hugs her. Bullies suck but without them I guess we wouldn't have such emotional TV moments. The judges all really like her. She is seriously going to have to get a grip on her emotions though as I certainly don't want to see her bawling her way through every performance each week as the show continues. It's all yeses with Simon saying it's the easiest yes he's given all day.